Bottle-wiring machine



5 Sheets-Sheet 1.

(No Model.)

0. L. CURTIS.

BOTTLE WIRING MACHINE.

Patented Mar. 24, 1891.

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Attorney.

(No Model.)

0. L. CURTIS.

5 Sheets-Sheet 2.

BOTTLE WIRING MACHINE.

Patented M41224, 1891.

Fig/:2.

INVENTORI I @W 44:44:;

Attorney.

(No Model.) 5 Sheets-Sheet 3. G. L. CURTIS. BOTTLE WIRING MACHINE.

No. 448,854. Patented Mar. 24, 1891.

INVENTORI y e n r 0 w n THE NORRIS FEYEHS :04, PHGTD-LITNO, msmuuwu, n. c.

(No Model.) 5 Shets-Sheet 4.

0, L. CURTIS. BOTTLE WIRING MACHINE.

No. 448,854. Patented M41224, 1891.

Iii.llllllllllllllll-lllllllllllilllllllll- INVENTORI WITNESSES; W' By Attorney.

5 Sheets-Sheet 5.

(No Model.)

0 L CURTIS BOTTLE WIRING MACHINE. I No. 448,854. Patented Mar. 24, 1891.

INVENTOR:

STATES N 5TB 'Arnivr Fries.

CHARLES L. CURTIS, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO THE N. B. ABBOTT MACHINE COMPANY, OF NEW YORK.

BO TTLE-W IRING MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 448,854, dated March 24, 1891.

Application filed December 81, 1890. Serial No. 376,873- (No model.)

To aZl whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES L. CURTIS, a citizen of the United States, residing in Brooklyn, Kings count-y, New York, have invented certain Improvements in Bottle-Wiring Machines, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to the class of machines employed for applying the wire stopper-retainer to bottles and similar receptacles; and the object of the invention is to pro duce a comparatively simple machine adapted to receive, hold, and wire the bottle automatically at one operation of the machine. The wire retainer applied by my machine consists of a band about the bottle-neck below the fillet and branches which spring from said band extend up over the cork and are united by a single twist on the top of the latter. By preference the band is of a single strand of wire, and the retainer is made up of three pieces of wire laid about the bottle-neck by the machine, and these twisted together to form three branches. By preference, also, the strands of wire are united by a short twist, and the two untwisted strands are carried up over the cork, where the six strands are united by a single twist, which is trimmed oil and the twist then flattened down on the cork.

Before proceeding to describe the machine minutely with reference to the accompanying drawings, I will describe it generally with a view of imparting a better understanding of the principles upon which it operates and the objects sought to be attained by the special construction thereof.

The machine is adapted for applying a wire retainer having three strands over the cork. In the vertical axis of the machine below is rotatively mounted an automatic holder for the bottle adapted to clamp on and hold bottles of different dimensions within limits. When placed in the machine by the attendant, the-bottle stands erect in the axis of the machine witlrits stoppered or corked end u ppermost. Guide-fingers on the holder serve to guide the operator in placing the bottle. Arranged about the bottle-holder and equally spaced are set three posts or uprights constituting parts of the machine-frame, and on each of these posts is mounted a mechanism for feeding a wire from a wire holder or reelinward to and alongside the bottle-neck, a cutter to sever a piece from the wire, a twister to form one of the three twists where the branches join the band, and a lifter to lift the pair of wires forming the branch into an upright position. The three mechanisms placed about the bottles are alike or may be alike. Each has, as stated, a feeder which draws the wire from the reel or holder and projects it-inward past the bottle-neck and parallel to a tangent thereto, the end of the wire entering between the jaws of the twister on the next adjacent device. Thus when each device has fed its wire forward the bottle-neck will be embraced by three substantially straight strands of wire forming a triangle, and these strands will meet and cross each other at three points, and these three points will be in the jaws of the respective twisters. The twister-jaws now close on the wires at these crossing points, and simultaneously each wire is out off and the twisters move inward radially toward the bottle-neck. The twisters now rotate axially, making, by preference, two complete revolutions. hen the twists are made,

the effect is to close the wires on the bottleneck to form the band and to leave three branches in the twisters. The jaws of the twisters now open and draw back and the lifters take under the three branches formed by the twists and lift them into an upright position.

Directly over the cork in the bottle and in the vertical axis of the machine is mounted a gripper-head, which is in the nature of a block with three vertically-arranged radial slots so set as to receive the three branches of the wire retainer when they are lifted, and there are three gripping-jaws pivoted above and suspended, which now swing downward, engage the wires of the respective branches, and gather them into the respective slots, bending them over the cork and pressing them against a central abutment in the gripperhead. As soon as the branches are thus gathered and clamped fast the head rises a little and the holderin which the bottle is mounted is rotated automatically, and this rotation twists the six wires forming the three branches together on the top of the cork. The head now lifts still higher, and a cutter mounted on the face of the gripper-head sweeps around, nips and shears off thefrayed end of the final twist, bending the twist over to one side at the same time and down into the soft material of the cork. At this moment the bottle is released by the relieving of the clamps in the holder and the machine stops automatically to receive another bottle. Thus one bottle is wired at each operation of the machine. I may say, however, that while the twist on the top of the corkis being trimmed, and after the branches have been lifted out of the twisters, the wire-feeders operate to place a new set of wires, so that when the next bottle is placed in the holder by the attendant he will find the triangle of wires already formed.

The cams and other mechanisms which operate the devices named are placed, as herein shown, in the base of the machine and are driven from the power-shaft.

I will now proceed to describe the machine more minutely with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein- Figure 1 is a side elevation, partly in seetion,of a machine for wiring bottles embodying myimprovements. This view is taken from the point indicated by the arrow y in Fig. 2. Fig. 1 is a front view of the extreme upper part of the machine, omitted from Fig. 1 for lack of space. Fig. 2 is a sectional plan of the machine, taken in the plane indicated by the dotted line A A in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the mechanism in the base of the machine as seen from the point indicated by the arrow .2 in Fig. 2. This may be considered the front of the machine. Fig. 4 is a plan view of one of the wire feeding, cutting, and twisting mechanisms detached and on a large scale. This view also shows in dotted lines the relative positions of the other two twisters. Figs. 1, 4 and 4 are detached detail views of parts of the device illustrated in Fig. 4:. Fig. 5 is a side view of the gears which operate the radial twisters detached and on the same scale as Fig. 4,. Fig. 6 is a side elevation, partly broken away, of the wire-feeder on the same scale as Fig. 4. Fig. 6 is a view showing one of the feedwheels and its gears detached. Fig. 7 is a plan view of the bottle-holder, showing the centering'clamp. Figs. 8 and 8 are respectively side views of the base and upper part of the bottle-holder. Fig. 9 is a side elevation of the grippenhead and grippers detached and on alarger scale than Fig. 1. Fig. 10 is an underside view of said gripper-head, showing the trimmerfor the top twist; an d Fig. 10 is a similar view showing the jaws of the trimmer in a position different from that seen in Fig. 10. Fig. 11 is an enlarged sectional view of a grippcr-head and grippers constructed according to myinvention. This view is designed to illustrate more clearly the operation of this mechanism. Fig. 12 shows the stopper-ed end of a bottle as it appears when wired by my machine.

1 represents the base-frame of the machine; 1, the upper bed arranged on the latter, and 1 uprights, three in number, mounted on the base-frame 1. The uprights are connected at their upper ends by a frame 1 These constitute the fixed frame of the machine, and it may have any form or construction most convenient or desirable. lVithin the frame and below the bed l are arranged the several eamshafts, cams, and driving mechanism.

2 is the main shaft, which may be driven with a belt and pulley in the usual way, and an automatic stop mechanism may be employed to arrest the machine at the end of each wiring operation.

3 3 3 are three radially-arranged canishafts, each provided with a set of cams for operating the respective like feeding and twisting mechanisms above. The cam-shaft 3 is driven from the main shaft 2 through the medium of a bevel-pinion ton the latter, gearing with a bevelavheel 5 on the former. As herein shown, the main shaft makes four revolutions to one of the camshaft, and one revolution of the latter is necessary to a single wiring operation. The camshaft 3 drives the other two cam-shafts 3 throughthe medium of a bevel-wheel 6, which rotates loosely on a central shaft 7 in the base-frame.

The shaft 7 carries on its upper end a crosshead, to which are pivoted thetwo jaws 8 8 of the bottle clamp and holder. These jaws are provided at their upper ends each with a padded fork, so that when brought together the bottle is embraced between the forks. The jaws are drawn together on the bottle by a spring, herein represented by a coil-spring 9, attached at its ends to the respective jaws. The jaws are provided with knuckles at their pivots to gear them together, and are opened by means of a treadle 10, coupled by a link 11 to a lever 12, which has a pin or project-ion engaging a circumferentially-grooved collar 13, which slides up and down on the shaft 7, and is coupled to the respective jaws by links ll. Springs 15 are arranged to retract the collar 13, one end of said springs being F8- cured to the collar and the other ends to the head of shaft 7. The spring 9 tends to retract said collar; but it is important that the collar should have some movement independent of that of the jaws for reasons to be explained, and hence the links 14 are slightly slotted.

The jaws 8 clamp on the body of the bottle, and there is a centering device and guide, which embraces the bottleneck just below the fillet. This device comprises the following mechanical features: Carried by a head 16 on the shaft 7 is a frame comprising a curved plate 16, mounted on uprights 16. This plate 16 is at about the level of the fillet on the bottle to be wired. An upright rock-shaft 17 is mounted in the plate lo and head 16 and carries on its upper end a curved finger 18.

Two other like curved fingers 18 are pivotally mounted on the plate 16, (see Figs. 7 and 8%) and arms on the latterfingers are coupled by links 19 to the respective, ends of a crossbar 20, fixed on the upper end of the shaft 17 When this shaft is rocked in the proper direction, the several fingers 18 18 18 are brought in toward the axis of the bottleholder, and their tips press on the neck of the bottle just back of the fillet, and thus serve to center the bottle and steady it during the wiring operation.

The shaft 17 is rocked by means of the device comprising an oblique groove 13 (see Fig. 8) in a block on the side of the splined sliding collar 13, a stud 13 on a boss 17* on the lower end of shaft 17 engaging said groove. Thus when the collar is drawn down by the operator the shaft 17 is rocked and the fingers of the centering-clamp are opened, and when the operator removes the pressure from the treadle 10 and the springs 15 move the collar 13 up on the shaft 7 the stud 13 rocks the shaft 17 in the other direction and closes the centering-fingers on the bottle -neck. The slotted connection of the links 14 to the jaws 8 of the bottle-clamp allows of somevariation in proportion between the bodies and necks of the bottles and provides a holder adapted to clamp bottles having bodies of uniform size and necks varying in diameter, and also those having necks of uniform diameter and bodies varying in size. The centering-clamp is rendered variable by reason. of the springs 15; but when the fingers of this clamp have been set on the bottle-neck they cannot be spread apart by any ordinary force applied to themselves by reason of the stud and oblique slot device employed for converting the rectilineal motion of the collar 13 into rotary motion of the shaft 17. This device introduces an inclined plane or wedge between said fingers and the collar, which is important, as it prevents any strain on the upper part of the bottle from pressing back the fingers. My holder combines thus a yielding and variable clamp for the body of the bottle and a non-yielding but variable clamp for the neck thereof, both clamps setting themselves automatically.

Figs. 7, 8, and 8 best illustrate the construction of the bottle-holding mechanism.

I will now describe the mechanism for feeding the wires and twisting them together upon the bottle-neck, premising that there are three like sets of these mechanisms arranged to be actuated simultaneously, and a minute description of one will suffice for all. The wire is led from a spool or reel 21 (see Fig. 1) of any kind through a wire guide and straightener 22, Figs. 4 and 6,which will be formed, by preference, of a series of horizontally and vertically arranged rollers to and between a pair of feed rollers 23. These feed -rollers are driven from a cam 24, which acts through a cam-rod 25 and a pawl and ratchet 25 to impartintermittent rotation to a spur-wheel 26,

plug which extends transversely across the path ofthe wire and has a transverse bore aligned with that along which the wire travels. By merely rocking the plug axially the wire is severed. This plug-cutter is rocked by means of a cam 30 and a rod 30. After passing the cutter the wire moves through the jaws of the radial twister, and thence across and into the jaws of the twister next adjacent, the jaws being retracted and open. As represented in Fig. 4, the wire passes to that twister next adjacent at the right.

31 and 31 are the two jaws of thetwister 31. These jaws are pivotally mounted on one end of a shaft 32, mounted rotatively in brackets 33 and 33, (see Figs. 4 and 4 and is capable of some endwise movement in its bearing. 0n the other end of said shaft is a long pinion 34, which gears with a spur-wheel 35, mounted on a stud on the frame. )Vith the proportions here shown one-fourth of a rotation of the wheel 35 imparts two complete rotations to the pinion 34. The wheel 35 is intermittently rotated by a cam 36 through the medium of a pawl-rod 37, a pawl 38, and a four-toothed ratchet-wheel 39 (see Fig. 5) on the wheel 35. Thus each time the cam 36 rotates it imparts two complete rotations to the pinion 34 and the twister-shaft 32.

In Fig. 4 the axis of the bottle-holder is indicated by a small circle at as, and this axis will coincide with the axis of the bottle-neck when a bottle is in the holder. The wires from the three like feeders are fed so as to form the straight sides of a plane figure, in this case an equilateral triangle of which the point 50 is the center. The respective wires cross at the angles of the figure, and these are situated in the respective twisters, the intersection being in the axis of the twister and between the jaws of the same. )Vithin each angle formed by the wires, which latter are represented by broken lines in Fig. 4, is a stud 40 on the twister 31. The object of these studs is to hold the wires apart and distinct during the twisting.

I may say that where the wires form three sides of an equilateral triangle, as herein shown, the axis of each wire-feeder will be at an angle of thirty degrees with the axis of the twister adjacent thereto.

\Vhen the twister is moved inward radially toward the point :r, the jaws thereof close on IIO the wire, and when it is retracted they open.

The longitudinal movement of the twistershaft is effected by a cam 41 and a shiftingrod 42, the upper extremity of which is coupled to a lever 12, which has a Y on its end, the branches of which engage a circumferential groove 13 in a collar fixed on the shaft 3:2. In a longitudinal slot in said shaft is mounted a flat bar 44, on the end of which, within the hollow of the twister, is a double rack 4%. This rack is clearly seen in Fig. at", which is a sectional view showing the interior mechanism of the twister. Theteeth on the double rack gear with teeth on mutilated pinions 15 on or forming part of the respective twisterjaws 31 and 31". Fig. 1 is an edge view of the jaw 31 with one of the pinions 45 attached. The rack is carried around with the shaft 32, but does not move longitudinally with it. Hence from the engagment of the teeth of the rack with the pinions on the jaws the latter are caused to open and close by the endwise movement of the shaft which carries them. The rack-bar H is prevented from moving endwise by being secured to a circumferentially-groovecl collar 45, mounted loosely on the shaft 32, adjacent to the bearing-bracket 33, a pendent portion of said bracket engaging the groove in said collar 45.

The end of the wire as it enters the twister from the rear passes under an overhanging portion on the back part of jaw 31", then crosses over obliquely and along the face of jaw 31. To form a keeper for the wire, this jaw has an overhanging lip 31. (Seen best in Fig. 4:, which is an end view of the twister on a somewhat larger scale than Fig. 4.) There is also a pivoted keeper 32, mounted in the twister 31 under the jaw 31", the inner upturned end of which is thrown up outside of the wire, so as to keep it in place next the jaw. \Vhen the jaws stand open, as in the drawings, the jaw 31 stands over and depresses the outer end of the keeper 32, thus elevating its inner end; but as the jaw moves in in closing it moves off this extremity of the pivoted keeper, and the inner end thereof, which is the heavier, falls by gravity until the lip thereon is below the wire, wherebythe wire is set free. This device or some similar keeper is rendered desirable as a precautionary device to insure against the free end of the wire getting out of or away from the jaw and out of line with the adjacent twister. In order that the wire coming from one twister may properly enter the jaws of that next adjacent, I prefer to cut away or flare the twister, as seen at 31 in the several figures, so as to facilitate its entrance. As the jaws of the twister come together on the wires, they clamp the latter just outside of or beyond the stud 10, and the two wires are engaged in a fork 31, (see Fig. 4%) formed in a beak on the jaw 31, which laps over on the jaw 31". This beak is broken away in Fig. 4. At the moment the radial twisters move in and the jaws close on the wires the cutters 29 operate and sever the wires.

Fig. 4: represents the position of the feeders and radial twisters at the beginning of the wiring operation, the wires being already in place about the axis of the bottle-holder. When the bottle shall have been placed and clamped, the machine is set in motion, the twisters advance and close, the cutters sever the wires, and the twisters are rotated. This twists down the three pairs of wires 011 the bottle-neck, forming a band thereabout, and leaving three branches therefrom in the twisters. These latter retract and open and instantly three lifters 46 are brought into play. This litter is a lever of an L shape fulcrumed at 17 and its operative arm 46 arranged to play up and down in frontof the twister and adjacent to the bottle-neck. The arm 46 takes under the twisted branch of wire released by thetwister, and by its upward movement bends the branch into a position parallel with the bottle-axis, or substantially so. The lifter is held in its normal depressed po sition by a cam 18 and rod 49, and when the cam passes a spring 4-9 acts to throw up the operative arm of the lifter. However, both movements of the lifter may be effected by a cam or cams. 1V hen the branches of the wire band or retainer are lifted into an upright position by the lifters, they enter radially-arranged vertical slits 50 in a head 51, arranged in the prolongation of the bottle-axis and above the bottle. This head 51 is fixed to a tubular stem 52, mounted to slide longitudinally in abearing in the frame 1. (See Fig.1.) In it is arranged a slide-rod 53, which is coupled at its lower inner end to a collar 51, mounted to slide on the stem 52. The coupling of the collar and rod is effected by a stud 5t, which plays in a slot of limited length in the tubular stem 52. A spring between the collar 5% and head 51 tends by extension to force the two apart and to keep the collar pressed upward as far as the slot will permit. 0n the head 51 are pivotally. mounted three gripper-jaws 56, arranged to enter the respective slots and gather the three branches in against the central abutment 51 in the head. These grippers are actuated by the collar 51, to which they are coupled, respectively, by links 57. The spring 55 retracts the gripper-jaws by pushing the collar upward. The resistance to compression of the spring 55 is such that when the slide-rod 53 is pushed down it carries the head 51 and its stem down with it until the head meets a resistance-as the cork in the bottle, for examplewhen the further movement downward of the rod and collar compresses the spring 55 and the jaws 56 of the gripper are made to clamp the branches of the retainer, as stated. The rod 53 is pushed or driven down by a cam 58 on shaft 3, a rod 59, and a lever 00, mounted on the top of the machine-frame. This lever is coupled to the cam-rod 59 at one end and to the rod 53 at its other end. As the head 51 will be apt to meet with resistance at diifercntlevels, owing to the different sizes of bottles and different heights of their corks, provision is made for lost motion (the throw of the operating-cam being constant) by connecting the lever 60 to the rod 53 by a pair of strong distending springs 61. The retraction of the rod 53 is effected by a spring-pawl 62 on the lever, which engages the teeth of a ratchet on said rod, and as this pawl may, owing to the distention of the springs 61, engage the ratchet at" different points, I provide a device for disengaging the pawl at a given point in its upward movement, no matter at what point it may be engaged at the time with the ratchet on the bar. The pawl is provided with-two lugs 63, which,-as the lever carries the pawl upward, engage cam-faces on inclines 64 on a fixed upright 65, mounted on the top of the machine-framel As the lever descends, the head 51 strikes the cork, and its further downward movement is arrested. Then the gripper-jaws clamp 011 the branches of the retainer, as described. At this n10- ment the lever 60 in its descent strikes and presses down a lever 66, mounted on the top of the machine-frame. To the short arm of this lever 66 is coupled a lifting-pawl 67, (seen in Fig. 1,) which is thus protruded in an upward direction and made to engage a ratchet on the tubular stem 52, whereby said stem and its attached head, together with the gripper-jaws, are lifted a little and the pressure is taken off the cork. At this moment the bottleholder and, of course, the bottle clamped therein are rotated, and the three branches of the retainer twisted together on the top of the cork. The mechanism for effecting this rotation of the bottle-holder is best illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2. On the shaft 7 is a toothed wheel 68, which gears, through an intermediate 69, with a wheel 70. On the shaft of the wheel 70 is a bevel-pinion 71, which gears with a bevel-wheel 72 on a horizontal shaft, and on this shaft is ratcheted a crank 73, which is coupled by a link to the free end of a lever 74. As the shaft 3 rotates, a stud 75, projecting from the back of wheel 5, (or it may be from a disk on shaft 3,) takes under the lever 7 4: and raises it, thus turning the crank 73 partly round and through it imparting the proper number of complete rotations to the shaft 7 and the bottle-holder. In order to keep the bottle-holder steady during the wiring operation, a suitable automatic look maybe provided. The twist having been formed on the top of the cork, the cam 58 passes, and a spring 59 (see Fig. 1) throws up the lever 60 and lifts the grippenhead 51 high enough to permit the twist to be trimme This trimmer is illustrated in Fl 9, 10, and 10. A cam 76 on shaft 3 acts through a cam-rod 77 to rock an elbow-lever 78, to one arm of which is coupled a link 79. This link is coupled at its other end to a crankarm 80 on a vertically-arranged rock-shaft 81, mounted at its lower end in a flange-bearing on the gripper-head 5i and at its upper end in a sliding bearing in the machine-frame. 011 the lower end of this shaftis fixed an arm 82, which carries the fixed jaw 82 of the trimmer. The movable jaw 82 of the trimmer is pivoted to the arm 82 and its tail is coupled to one end of a link 83, the other end of which is pivotally attached to the face of the head 51. (See Fig. 10.) hen the arm swings over the lower face of the head, the movable jaw 82 encounters the twist of the wire retainer and, actuated by the link 83, presses said twist up to the stationary jaw 82, and these jaws then trim it off. Fig. 10 shows the position of the jaws after they have closed on the twist. The further swing of the trimmer serves to bend overandflatten down the twist, and at this moment the cam 58 acts to depress the gripper-head and with it the trimmer, and the pressure from the head serves to press the twist down on or into the soft material of the cork, as seen in Fig. 12, wherein 84 represents the bottle-neck, 85 the fillet thereon, 86 the cork, 87 the wire band about the bottle-neck behind the fillet, 88 the branches of the retainer, and 89 the twist flattened down on the top of the cork.

It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that by simply adding the necessary parts, duplicates of those shown, a retainer having four or more branches 88 may be applied, and

it will also be obvious that the means last de-' scribed for trimming the last twist and flattening it down might be omitted from the machine and these offices performed by hand or by another machine after the wired bottle is removed.

In Fig. 11, which is on a larger scale than Fig. 9, I have shown a gripper-head 51 provided with four equally-spaced grippers 57, as this number of grippers is better adapted for illustration than three in a sectional elevation. It will be seen that the branches 88 of the retainer are engaged at the moment the twisting operation begins in the several slots 50 in the head, the lower face of which stands quite close to the cork 86. As the bottle rotates, the walls of these slots guide the wires, and when the slack is taken up by the twist the wires of the branches slip under the grippers until at the finish they grasp only the extreme tips of the wires. The head 51 will by preference have a face-plate 90,as seen in Fig. 11, not integral with the head.

Figs. 9 and 11 show only one spring 55 arranged within the hollow stem 52 and under the end of the slide-bar 53; but two or more of such springs may be employed, arranged exteriorly in any convenient manner to effect the object sought.

As herein shown, the machine isso constructed that the bottle stands erect with its axis vertical, and some of the reciprocating parts of the machine are represented as moved in one direction by cams and in the other direction by their own weight; but it is not essential that the machine be constructed in this way, the bottle need not stand upright, and the parts referred to maybe moved in both directions by cams.

I am aware that the details of construction embodied in the machine as herein shown IIO may be varied to a considerable extent with out departing materially from my invention, and I do not, therefore, limit myself to these details.

Having thus described my invention, 1 claim 1. In a machine for wiring bottles and the like, the combination, with a holder for the bottle, of feeding mechanism for placing the strands of wire to form the sides of an angular plane figure about the axis of the bottleholder, twisters radially arranged about said axis, one at each angle of said figure, said twisters being adapted to twist. the adjacent. strands at each angle together in couples, thus forming the band and branches of the retainer, and the cutters for severing the wire, situated between the respective twisters and the wirefeeding mechanisms and operating after the twisting thereof.

2. In a machine for wiring bottles and the like, the combination, with a centering-holder for the bottleneck and three or more wirefeeders arranged about said holder and adapted to feed the wires from one twister to that next adjacent,wliereby the bottle-neck is embraced by substantially straight wires formingthe sides of a planeilgure, of the twisters, one adjacent to each feeder, said twisters being adapted to twist together the adjacent wires at each angle in pairs to form the band and branches of the wire retainer, and cutters for severing the wires, situated between the respective twisters and the wire-feeding mechanisms and operating after the twisting thereof.

3. In a machine for wiring bottles and the like, the combination, with a centering-holder for the neck of the bottle and the twisters radially arranged about said holder, of the wire-feeders, one arranged at each twister and adapted to feed the wire from said twister into the twister next adjacent, whereby the several wires are crossed within the twisters in pairs, as setforth, and the cutters for the wires arranged adjacent to and operating in connection with the feeders.

4:. In a bottle-wiring machine, means for bending the branches of the retainer into position about the stoppered end of the bottle, a gripper-head having radial slots to receive said branches, and a central abutment atthe point of convergence of said slots, grippers adapted to play in said slots in the head and to clamp the respective branches firmly against the central abutment, and means for actuating said grippers, all combined and arranged to operate substantially as set forth.

5. In a machine for wiring bottles and the like, the combination, to form the bottleholder, of the shaft 7, the knuckled jaws 8, mounted pivotally on the same, the spring which draws said jaws together, the sliding collar 13 on the shaft 7, a spring for sliding said collar upward on the shaft, the links connecting said collar with the jaws S, the rockshaft 17, provided with a stud engaging an oblique groove in the collar 13, the said stud, the finger 18 on the shaft 17, the fingers 18", mounted on the frame of theholder, the crossbar 20 on the shaft 17, and thelinks coupling the respective ends of said cross;bar to the fingers 18, substantially as set forth.

(5. In a machine for wiring bottles 'and the like, the combination, to form a twister, of a rotatively-mouuted shaft capable of endwise movement in its bearings, the jaws pivotally mounted on said shaft, and provided each with a mutilated gear 45, the rack-bar 44.,mounted in alongitudinal slot in said shaft, means for rotating said shaft, and means for moving said shaft longitudinally independentof said rack-bar, whereby the jaws are closed by said endwise movement of the bar.

7. In a machine for wiring bottles and the like, the combination, with three radially-arranged twisters, of three wire-feeders, one adjacent to each twister, the axis of the feeder being at an angle to that of the twister and said angle being such that the wire fed through the twister intersects the axis of the twister between the jaws of the latter, substantially as set forth.

8. In a machine for wiring bottles and the like, the combination of three radially-arranged twisters placed at uniform distances apart about the axis of the bottle-holder, said bottle-holder, and three wire-feeders, one arranged adjacent to each twister, the axis of the wire-feeder being at an angle of thirty degrees with thatof the adjacent twister, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

9. As a means for imparting intermittent rotation to the bottle-holder, the combination, with the shaft 7, which carries said holder, and the toothed wheel 68 on said shaft, of the rotatively-mounted toothed wheel 7 2 and its shaft, the train of wheels between the wheels 68 and 72, whereby the latter drives the former, a crank 73, ratcheted on the shaft of the wheel 72, whereby each vibration of said crank imparts a rotary forward impulse to said wheel, a lever 74, pivoted to the frame at one end and coupled to said crank at the other end, and means, substantially as described, for imparting a vibrating movement to said lever at each wiring operation.

10. In a bottle-wiring machine, the combination, with an intermitteutlyrotating holder for the bottle and means for placing and twisting the wires of the retainer about the neck of the bottle, of the slotted gripper-head arranged over the cork of the bottle and pro-- vided with a central abutment 51, t-hegripper-jaws pivotally mounted on said head and adapted to enter the respective slots in the same, and means, substantially as setforth, for operating said jaws.

11. The combination, with the slotted gripper-head 51 and its stem 52, of the slide-oar 5-), the compression-spring 55 between said slide-bar and head, whereby the bar may continue to descend after the head shall have met a resistance, the gripper jaws 56, carried ICC by said head, and means whereby the said jaws are closed by the independent down ward movement of said slide-bar, as set forth.

12. The combination, with the slotted gripper-head and its stem, the slide-bar 53, provided with a ratchet, and the compressionspring between said slide-bar and head, of the operating-lever 60, the springs 01, connecting said lever and the slide-bar, the pawl 62, car ried by the lever and engaging the ratchet on the slide-bar, and means, substantially as described, for disengaging the said pawl when the lever rises, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

13. The combination, with the gripper-head and its stem, the latter provided with a ratchet, the slide-bar, and the compression-spring between said head and slide-bar, of the liftinglever 66, the pawl 67, carried by said lever, and the lever 60, which actuates the slide-bar, the lever 60 being in the path of the lever 60,

whereby when the latter descends it will strike the lever (36 and cause the pawl 67 to V engage the stem of the gripper-head and lift the latter, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

14. The combination,with the gripper-head,

of the trimmer for the top twist mounted CHARLES L. CURTIS.

Witnesses:

HENRY CONNETT, J. D. CAPLINGER. 

